Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas
wills
If my father passes away and wills everything to a non related party or charity can his adult children probate the will or the estate to gain the inheritance? Does the will have to be filed with the county clerk to be legal? If a person passes away that has no contact with the family ..how do the authorities try to locate the relative or next of kin?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: wills
If your father passes away and leaves
his estate, through a will, to a non related party
or to a chairty, his will will would have to be
probated to be effective. Probate means filing the
will in the proper court (usually the county court)
and convincing the judge that the will is valid.
If a person passes away with no contact with his
family, normally the "authorities" are not involved
in locating the heirs. Generally this is someone
who is interested in the estate of the deceasded
person.